Candidates Heading Back to Real Jobs for Bailout Vote

Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama will leave the presidential campaign trail and return to Washington in time to vote on the Senate version of the Wall Street bailout, or economic recovery package. (ABCNews Photo Illustration)

From ABC News:

Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain will step off the presidential campaign trail and into the middle of the economic crisis when they hustle back to Washington to vote on a Senate plan to rescue Wall Street, hoping that congressional action will encourage the House to end its rebellion and pass the measure.

The Senate is expected to pass the bill Wednesday evening, but a top House Democrat warned that tax breaks inserted into the proposal to make it more appealing to senators may complicate its acceptance in the House, which already voted down the measure once this week.

Squabbling over the $700 billion bailout can’t end soon enough for Jack Welch, the former CEO and chairman of General Electric who warned on “Good Morning America” that “every day we wait, every minute we wait, increases the depth of the downturn in the economy and the length of it.”

Sen. Joe Biden, Obama’s vice presidential running mate who is preparing for Thursday’s first and only VP debate against Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, will also return to the Senate for the vote.

As for Palin, the self-described “new energy” is still in debate camp. As I warned before, don’t fall for the GOP lowering-expectations game. The Pitbull is a talented debater. Don’t believe any hype that says she wins if she merely holds her own against Biden tomorrow night. Judge her as the more than competent debate performer that she proved herself to be during the debates for the Alaska gubernatorial race that she won. And should the mainstream media go easy on her (as I expect they will), speak out against them and against that sexist tactic. Women deserve equality — that means being as tough on them as we are on the male candidates. The challenges of the office don’t change based upon the gender of the person filling the chair behind the desk.